


Pause

by TheAuthorGod



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Castiel/Dean Winchester One Shot, Childhood Friends, Cute, Fluffy, Gay Bashing, M/M, Mentions other character is passing, Old Friends, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-26
Updated: 2015-02-26
Packaged: 2018-03-15 07:50:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3439340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAuthorGod/pseuds/TheAuthorGod
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Dean's mother moved their family, their small broken family, to another town; it was like the end of the world.  Dean didn't want to go; he even attempted to run away from home.  He ran to his best friend's house, the Milton's home.  It didn't work out, of course; little boys don't always get what they want.</p><p>Ten years brings the Winchesters back into town.  He and Cas have both grown up; but, they're still Dean and Cas.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pause

**Author's Note:**

> UNPROOF'D. UNEDIT'D. UNBETA'D. Mistakes are mine; characters are not.
> 
> I needed a bed time story; so I wrote one.
> 
> Will edit tomorrow.

Dean bit his lip and ran across the street to Cas’ house, making sure to look both ways because that’s what big boys do. He scrambled up the steep yard to the white-painted, concrete steps and knocked on the screen door. He hiked his backpack further onto his back.  
  
Mrs. Milton answered the door. She looked down at him with a smile. “Are you looking for Castiel, Sweetie?”  
  
With a curt nod, Dean pushed past her. He’d been there a million times. He knew where everything was. It was practically his home too. He climbed the stairs on his hands and feet. When he got to the top of the stairs, he jerked up straight and his backpack fell down his back down his back from where it had ridden up.  
  
He padded to the end of the hallway and stopped at the last door. He huffed a little and wadded his fists in his shirt. He tapped his foot against the door.  
  
The door swung slowly to reveal Cas’ room, just like it always has been. Dean stared in. Cas was sitting cross-legged on the bed with a book in his lap. He finished his page before he looked up. His eyes were wide when they caught Dean’s. “Oh.”  
  
Dean toed at the floor, suddenly nervous. “Can I stay over?”  
  
The book was forgotten. Cas slid off the bed and stood awkwardly on his rug. “Dean-”  
  
“Cas.” Lip quivering, Dean sniffed. “Can I stay over?”  
  
Nodding, Cas looked about as horrible as Dean felt. He plopped to the floor and yanked his comforter from his bed. He wadded it around himself like a mini beehive with a head sticking out. It suited him. Dean found a small smile. Cas loved bees.  
  
Dean strode over and yanked at the covers so he could insert himself into the dark blue fist of warm and Cas and ‘right’. “I don’t wanna move.”  
  
“I don’t want you to move either.” Cas pushed close. It wasn’t as weird as when someone at school would try to touch him and it wasn’t as awkward as when Sam would crawl into Dean’s bed at night. Cas was warm and soft and Dean didn’t want to leave.  
  
Licking his lips, Dean drew circles on Cas’ knee under the comforter. “Can’t I just live with you?”  
  
Silence followed; but, Cas shook his head into Dean’s shoulder.  
  
Dean felt tears press at his eyes again. There was something really wrong in his gut. Something that made him feel sick to his stomach. Something that made him feel like the world was closing in on him. He could describe the feeling; but, it was absolutely horrible.  
  
They fell asleep there.  
  
When Dean next woke, he was in the car. The sun was shining and the trees made green blurs outside the windows. “We have to go back; I didn’t get to say good bye to Cas!” Dean started and jerked but his seat belt kept him in place.  
  
His mother looked at him through the rear view mirror. “We’ve been planning this for months, Dean. You had plenty of time.” She sounded tired. She always sounded tired, ever since John had burned in the house fire.  
  
Dean turned back to the window and whispered, “I never got to say good bye.”  
  
\---  
  
10 years later  
  
\---  
  
Dean licked his lips while he stared at the steering wheel. This was it. It was senior year. They had to move when he entered senior year. It was horrible. The two biggest school years of his life and he had no friends in either. Well, third grade had been hell since Dean hadn’t known anyone in their new town. The same thing happens to them now.  
  
It didn’t help that Sam was excited. “Dude, I’m not the nerd anymore! I mean, I am; but, none of them will know. This is so cool!” He jittered in his seat, his hair twitching and flopping in different directions.  
  
“Yeah, maybe for you.” Dean shifted his hands of the steering wheel then squeezed until his forearms felt a twinge of discomfort. He let his hands drop from the steering wheel to his lap.  
  
Sam clapped him on the shoulder. “You can be whoever you want in you senior year. Why is that a bad thing?” Sam’s eyes shone like Dean was the luckiest person in the world. He didn’t understand.  
  
Shaking his head, Dean shifted to turn to Sam. “You don’t get it. I miss Benny and Charlie and Garth. I wasn’t cool; but, at least I had friends.” Friends that understood, he added mentally.  
  
When Dean looked up, he noticed that Sam wasn’t paying attention anymore; he was looking out the window in the direction of the front doors. “Is that…? Is that Castiel?”  
  
Dean’s concentration whipped to the door to see it close. Sam turned to him a new grin plastered to his face. “You get to see Cas again.”  
  
Swallowing, dean bit down until his teeth ached. It wasn’t the kind of senior year he had been hoping for; but, such was life.  
  
Sam pushed the door open and tried not to skip to the front doors.  
  
Dean reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. “Dude, chill out. I thought you wanted to be normal.”  
  
“I do, I do!” Sam sobered immediately; calculating his steps and holding his chin more level.  
  
Dean rolled his eyes. “Whatever, nerd.”  
  
“Shhhhhhhh.” They entered through the doors and it was like some hooker had decided to waltz in. Everyone was staring. Maybe not everyone; but, it felt like it.  
  
Making his way to the locker he had been assigned over the summer, he had been emailed his locker number and shown it when he registered for the year, Dean tried not to think about anything but getting the day over with. In a way, it was nice not having derogatory terms pasted all over his locker. In a way, it was nice not to have Alistair or his gang there to taunt him and his friends. But, it was just him. His friends weren’t there.  
  
Times were different though. Charlie was his friend on facebook and so was Benny. They’d keep in touch; maybe plan to go to parties together or do something over the summer. It still wasn’t the same.  
  
“Yo, faggot!”  
  
Dean’s head whipped around. He was so used to the word being directed at him that he was about to tell the person off. Instead he got an eyeful of Cas picking up papers that must have been pushed from his hands. An anger that Dean long forgot he possessed the ability to summon welled unbidden in his chest. The last time he had tasted that kind of anger hand been over a decade ago.  
  
He clenched his hands into fists and was about to storm across the hall when a female approached Cas. She had long blonde hair. She smiled gently and helped him pick up his things. “They’ll learn to fuck off at some point.”  
  
Dean almost laughed. Of course Cas had friends. He wasn’t like Dean. He had grown up here. He wasn’t alone. Dean turned back to his locker, the empty feeling in his chest growing deeper and colder.  
  
At lunch, Dean decided that ever school was the same. He hadn’t seen any of these people in forever; but, they were all the same and had counterparts at his old school. He’d have to learn names; but, really it was the same.  
  
Well, except, this school didn’t have an Alistair; it had a Crowley. He wasn’t sure if this guy was better or worse; it was really confusing.  
  
Dean was fidgeting. He sat across from Sam picking through his meal. Some people were chattering about them. He overheard someone saying something that sounded like ‘chemistry genius’ and raised his eyebrows in Sam’s direction.  
  
Pulling an appalled face, Sam rolled his eyes and pointed at Dean with his fork. “The teacher was teaching stoichiometry wrong, how can you do that? It’s not that hard. I mean-”  
  
Smiling a little, Dean took comfort in little – well, not so little anymore – Sam still being a nerd; on his first day even. He caught sight of Cas over Sam’s shoulder though. He was reading at a table by himself. Dean scanned the room and found the blonde girl sitting with another group of people.  
  
A pang of second-hand lonely thrummed down Dean’s spine. It was still worse when it was Cas, it still felt stronger when it was Cas; Dean realized belatedly.  
  
Dean stood.  
  
Sam’s hand shot out to grab his sleeve. “What are you doing?”  
  
Dean stared.  
  
“You can’t just leave me here.” Sam’s eyes grew wide in fear. His eyes flickered over toward the table where Crowley sat.  
  
Scanning the room, Dean found a girl who looked to be in Sam’s grade eying them curiously. She blushed and turned away to look at the other people at her table when Dean noticed her. Dean looked over the table; a few of the kids had books and one had a comic book. Nodding, Dean hauled Sam up by the loop on the top of his backpack. “Come on.”  
  
Sam grumbled but picked up his tray and followed. Dean paused next to the girl. “Hey.”  
  
She startled and turned. “Yeah, okay. Hi!” She smiled but it was tight.  
  
Gesturing to Sam, Dean looked over the table again. “This is my brother, Sam. He likes Game of Thrones, Chemistry, and Reading all night. Have at.” Sam glared at Dean. The kids at the table sized them both up and turned into themselves to talk.  
  
“What are you doing?” Sam hissed.  
  
Dean shrugged, careful not to mess up his tray of food. “Not leaving you alone.”  
  
The kids at the table leaned out of their huddle and shifted so there was a seat for Sam next to the kid with the comic book. He held his hand out, “I’m Kevin. I like Chemistry, too.” The table started to talk animatedly about chemistry and Dean turned to leave before he overstayed his welcome.  
  
“Hey, Dean?”  
  
He looked back to Sam and raised his eyebrows.  
  
“Are you doing what I think you’re doing?”  
  
The other kids at the table looked between Sam and Dean. They seemed genuinely interested and that was mighty nice of them; but, Dean wasn’t really a talk-about-my-feelings kind of guy. He nodded.  
  
Sam sighed. “Good luck.”  
  
Dean huffed a short laugh and rolled his shoulders back before turning to walk toward Cas. He walked over and paused next to Cas. He felt like a little kid again.  
  
He balanced his weight on one foot and lightly tapped Cas’ backpack. It shifted slightly and touched Cas’ leg.  
  
Cas’ eyes hurried down the page of the book he was reading before looking up. Whatever he had been expecting, it would seem Dean wasn’t it. His eyes grew wide. He looked around the room in a muted panic. He looked back to Dean. “Oh.”  
  
Dean could have laughed. He could have cried. Cas hadn’t changed. “Can I sit with you?” Dean swung his tray absently toward the spot next to Cas’.  
  
“Dean-”  
  
“Cas.” Dean swallowed hard and moved his tongue around. “Can I sit with you?”  
  
A beat passed before Cas nodded. He offered a small smile. He looked about as nervous as the turning in Dean’s stomach made him. Dean slid his tray onto the table and sat next to Cas. His body seemed to ease into Cas’ space and Cas did the same thing back.  
  
Before he realized it. Cas was leaning on Dean, his shoulder tucked onto Dean’s shoulder. It was like he had never left. A part of Dean felt like this was when he was waking up. Waking up next to Cas, not ten years ago in a car leaving. The last ten years were a dream; this was what was real. Cas was real.  
  
Being there with Cas was nice. Neither of them ate; not because they were sad but because they were both extremely happy. The bell rang. “I don’t want to move.” Dean picked at a hole in Cas’ jeans.  
  
“I don’t want you to move either.” Cas turned into Dean; his nose pushing into a pressure point in Dean’s neck that made his body decompress even further. He balled his fists into the hem of Dean’s tshirt.  
  
Dean felt the same anxiousness eat at him as had the last time this all happened. “Can’t I just stay with you, Cas?” He waited with bated breath.  
  
Cas forced his face even further into Dean. He swiveled suddenly and sat straddling Dean. His arms were trapped between them and his thumbs brushed against the skin of Dean’s stomach. It made the butterflies there get restless all over again.  
  
Breathing into Dean’s collar, Cas nodded. He nodded with jerky movements and pulled at Dean’s shirt to get him closer. They huddled together. It was like time started up again.


End file.
